Near field communication (NFC) is a technology based on radio frequency identification (RFID). NFC is used to exchange small amounts of data between two NFC devices or between an NFC device and an NFC reader. One exemplary NFC device is an NFC-enabled mobile phone. NFC is a standards-based, short-range (a few centimeters, typically requiring a distance of 4 cm or less) wireless connectivity technology that enables simple two-way short-range communication between electronic devices. This short-range communication is based on inductive-coupling, where loosely coupled inductive circuits share power and data over a distance of a few centimeters. More specifically, near field communication (NFC) involves an initiator and a target. The initiator actively generates a radio frequency (RF) field that can power a passive target. This enables NFC targets to take very simple form factors such as tags, stickers, key fobs, or cards that do not require batteries. Where two NFC devices are powered, NFC peer-to-peer communication is also possible.
Applications of NFC include contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi. For example, a user may utilize an NFC-enabled device to access services, interact with content, set up connections, make a payment, or present a ticket.
NFC tags store data and are typically read-only, although in some instances, they may be rewriteable. NFC tags can be custom-encoded by their manufacturers or use the specifications provided by the NFC Forum, an industry association promoting the technology and setting key standards. The tags can securely store personal data such as debit and credit card information, loyalty program data, personal identification numbers (PINs), and networking contacts, among other information. The NFC Forum defines four types of tags which provide different communication speeds and capabilities in terms of configurability, memory, security, data retention and write endurance. Tags currently offer between 96 and 512 bytes of memory.
A standard authentication procedure for every transaction using an NFC device may include entering a PIN via a keyboard or a keypad, voice recognition identification of one or more voices, biometric identification, or identification via a connection to a remote device.